The blaze formed a large ring and grew

A Northern California wildfire started by a lightning strike a month ago has burned more than 108,000 acres in the drought-stricken state, officials said on Friday.

The fire in the Klamath National Forest started when lightning struck the Happy Camp area on Aug. 11. It was 45 percent contained on Friday.

The blaze formed a large ring and grew by 882 acres on Thursday night, said Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Andrea Capps, and it is expected to continue to grow along the ring's southern perimeter through Friday.

"We're in the third year of a drought so these are unprecedented conditions," she said. "We have put all of our resources out there ... but with the drought conditions it just means everything is so much more flammable."

Mandatory evacuations are still in effect along Canyon Creek Road, where residents have flocked to the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds and a nearby tribal community center.

Earlier this month, the fire destroyed four homes and four outbuildings. A smaller fire in another part of the forest has swallowed more than 9,000 acres and was just 22 percent contained on Friday morning, officials said.

Nearly 3,000 firefighters and other emergency personnel from around the country are battling the flames and have cleared dry grasses and brush from around the fire, but winds and dry conditions are expected to force it south through Friday, said Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Kerry Greene.

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